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Chapter 8: Cake

Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Then we'll sell these sleeve guards for 50 cents a pair."

Su Wen slapped the board and urged her three sisters to quickly eat and shower.

After they had their meal and washed up, the sisters locked the front and back doors tightly and gathered in the back room to work on the sleeve guards.

Su Wen was in charge of picking out the cloth to form pairs of sleeve guards.

Su Qing specialized in sewing as she had good sewing skills.

Su Xiu had been working for the whole day and was so tired that she fell asleep the moment she got into bed. On the other hand, little sister Su was busying herself, full of energy.

One moment, she would be massaging her big sister's shoulders and pouring her tea. The next, she would be helping her second sister thread a needle. Once the thread on hand was used up, she would immediately replace it with a new one.

The three of them worked efficiently late into the night, stitching a total of thirty pairs.

"Alright, let's rest for today. We'll continue tomorrow."

Su Qing still had to go to her master's house the next day, so she yawned and went to bed.

Su Wen was the last to sleep, but because she was the only one free in the house, she got up early the next day and went into the kitchen to make cornmeal cakes.

It was soft, sweet and delicious, and the three sisters almost swallowed their tongues.

"Big sister, what kind of cake is this? How can it be so delicious?"

"It looks like the cake that grandma secretly gave to Niuniu!" little sister Su said with admiration.

"Cake?" Su Wen was quite surprised. Did cakes exist in the countryside in the 1980s? However, this reminded her that she could make her own cakes and sell them!

It was not difficult to make a cake as long as there were chicken eggs, flour, and sugar.

She could simply go to the town's blacksmith to order a few molds.

If the sleeve guards couldn't be sold, she could make cakes with some money.

She remembered that when she was young, she lived with her grandmother in the countryside. She would often bring eggs and sugar from home. There were people on the street who would help to bring them for processing as long as they paid the processing fee.

At that time, the cakes were so scrumptious, and the eggs were all laid by chickens reared in the countryside.

If any child could take a piece of cake and walk around the village, they would definitely become the most beautiful child in the village.

"Don't listen to Niuniu brag. Cake, my foot. Big aunt has a distant relative who works in the state-owned steel factory in the city. When she came back, she only told him about it and it was bragged about."

Su Qing had also heard of it but had never seen it, let alone eaten it.

Su Wen heaved a sigh of relief. It was good that he didn't! This way, it would be able to sell.

A lot of cakes could be made with just a little raw ingredients. They were soft and fluffy, sweet and tasty, which was definitely not something that peach crisps could compare with.

*****

For the next few days, Su Wen busied herself with making sleeve guards at night. She even made a shawl that could protect factory workers from the sun.

During the day, she visited the village and went to the house of Aunt Chunyan to inquire about the situation. After getting a clear picture of the public opinion in the village, she finally heaved a sigh of relief.

She hadn't given the 55 yuan away for nothing. She had immediately changed everyone's evaluation of her.

During this period, Su Wen met Sun Yunyun once in the village. She heaved a sigh of relief when she heard that she was arguing fiercely with her parents about continuing her studies — her brother and sister-in-law were against it and refusing to provide funding.

Go on and make a fuss! If she did, she wouldn't have the time to provoke her.

However, according to the plot of the novel, Sun Yunyun would continue with her studies in the end. She would even be admitted to a Teacher's College in the provincial city.

Su Wen sneered inside. Sun Yunyun's biggest goal was to target the male protagonist, hence her desperation to study.

In the novel, in order for the manipulative female protagonist to be worthy of the male protagonist, the author had forcibly given her a special power.

Through her dreams, the manipulative female protagonist could predict things that would benefit her.

Now, she must have dreamt that the male protagonist would become rich in the provincial city in the future. She was doing this so that she could be closer to him.

After a week of hard work, they had made thirty-one pairs of sleeve guards and twenty-five shawls.

They had originally intended to make only sleeve guards, but they needed elastic bands. Su Qing couldn't get that many, so they changed them all to sunscreen shawls.

The sunscreen shawls were eye-catching and attractive, and didn't even require elastic bands.

The villagers had to work in the fields, so the shawl was inappropriate and a bit of a hindrance, but the city residents could use them!

Su Wen's original plan to sell them in town had changed to selling them in the county.


next chapter

Chapter 9: Selling Things

Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Early in the morning, Su Wen went out with a hefty bag.

Little sister Su had made a fuss about wanting to go along, but Su Wen glared at her, so she shrank her shoulders like a little sheep and didn't dare to speak.

Su Wen's heart softened, and she eventually brought little sister Su along.

This girl was six years old this year, and she didn't go to school. When she played in the village, she was often bullied by Niuniu and a group of naughty children. She didn't feel at ease leaving her alone at home.

From Trinity village to Clear Water county, there was a distance of 12 miles.

The two sisters carried their bags and left the house before dawn. They hurried along and arrived at the right time.

Su Wen had never seen the county in the 1980s. As soon as she entered the city, she looked around curiously, silently thinking about the plot of the novel.

At this time, there was no specifically proposed farmer's market for free trade of agricultural products.

According to the timeline of the original story, the farmer's market would only be established in 1981 after the production was distributed to the households.

In other words, buying or selling things was not allowed. One could only do it sneakily at the black market.

"Big sister, there are people on patrol." Little sister Su had never sold anything before, so she had a guilty conscience. She was so scared that her legs went limp when she saw the patrolmen with green hats.

If they were caught, they would be locked up in the study class.

"It'll be fine!" Su Wen stuck out her chest and pulled little sister Su past the patrol without looking sideways.

Little sister Su looked at her big sister with admiration, her eyes full of stars.

"Big sister, do you know where the black market is?"

"I don't know, but I can find it."

Su Wen had been making observations along the way, staring at a scrawny and tanned man in his thirties. He was carrying a sack full of things on his back, and it was obvious that he was going to the black market to sell his items.

There should be no mistake in following.

She had already planned it out. Going to the black market was just to try her luck. If she couldn't sell them, she would go to the family quarters of the nearby factory.

"Big sister, you're so smart." Little sister Su was so excited that her face was as red as a rose.

Su Wen's hand itched and she reached out to give her a pinch. It felt good! It's just that there's too little flesh, so she'd have to nourish it in future.

Little sister Su didn't get upset after being pinched. Instead, she jumped up and down in excitement. She wished that big sister would pinch her other cheek.

The two sisters followed the man who was carrying a sack and successfully arrived at the black market. When they arrived, they discovered that there were far more people selling things than they had imagined. The people coming and going already gave the shape of a future farmer's market.

In less than a year, an official trading market for agricultural products would be established here.

"I say, you two have been following me all the way, right?" The scrawny and tanned man put the sack on the ground, glanced at Su Wen, and showed a kind smile.

Su Wen saw that the other party wasn't angry and knew that her chance had come. Having a reliable companion when going out to sell things would be of great help in the future if she built a good relationship with him.

"I'm really sorry, big brother. It's the first time we sisters are here to sell things, and we don't know how to do it. Please don't mind; we apologize to you."

As she spoke, she took out a pair of plain blue sleeve guards and stuffed them into the other party's hands.

"These are the sleeve guards we made ourselves. We're giving them to Sister to wear. They can protect from the sun and prevent bites from leeches when planting rice in the field."

"Little girl, you're too polite. How can I accept your things? I didn't do anything."

"Big brother, you must accept it. It's not something valuable. My second sister is an apprentice tailor; this was made by us. You can take it home and give it to Sister."

Su Wen was good at talking and was eloquent. Her words were so reasonable that it was difficult for the other party to refuse.

Moreover, the sleeve guards were made to look good and were practical. The man accepted it with a smile and enthusiastically introduced the black market to Su Wen.

For example, what was good to sell, how to hide when the patrols came, and so on.

Su Wen was also listening attentively, while little sister Su nimbly removed the sleeve guards and shawls from the bag and placed them neatly on the ground for display.

The little girl had walked for more than an hour, yet didn't make a fuss, but instead looked for an opportunity to help. Even though she was really tired, she would still clench her teeth and persevere. This would be an even more desperate display.

The tanned man kept complimenting little sister Su, making her blush in embarrassment.

No one had ever praised her since she was young. The most she had heard were 'money-losing goods' and 'debt-collector'.

This was the first time someone had complimented her, and she was so happy!


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